American City Council Votes To Opt Out Of Pokemon Go

The councillors' anger has been met with silence.

Des Moines councillors claimed the game was damaging local businesses, a drain on police resources and the cause of all sorts of antisocial behaviour.

The council voted unanimously to request an opt out after police explained how young people had taken to playing the game in the marina.

Scores of teenagers had been descending on the district each night to catch Pokemon, allegedly being noisy, drinking, and smoking marijuana.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

But the councillors’ anger has been met with silence. Michael Matthias, interim city manager, told the Seattle Times:

“We’ve not had a response one way or another. There’s a process where you use their website and you request to opt out. The City Attorney’s Office fulfilled that request, but we’ve not had a formal response.

“We clearly understand that’s in the discretion of this company.”

It’s not the first time a local government has sought to exclude itself from the game.